Same house. Six years later.

$2,114. That’s what you’d write a check for every month to buy the median American home today… before taxes, before insurance, before a single repair. Six years ago that payment was $971. The house didn’t double in size. You didn’t move into a mansion. Same four walls, same roof, same kitchen. The math just changed. Mortgage rates spiked to 6.51% this week — highest in nine months — because the bond market is pricing in the Iran war. And every basis point shows up in your neighbor’s payment.